1. The document provides summaries of key concepts in psychology, organized into chapters. Concepts include structuralism, functionalism, naturalistic observation, case studies, parts of neurons and the nervous system, areas of the brain, types of psychological processing, and learning theories. 2. Examples are given to illustrate each concept, such as comparing the brain to parts of a car, security cameras to naturalistic observation, and giving a dog a treat to positively reinforce behavior. 3. Various areas of the brain and psychological phenomena are defined and explained, along with diagrams and photos providing visual examples.

1. Comprehensive Photo Album
David Monti
AP Psychology
Period G

2. Prologue/Chapter 1

3. Structuralism
Structuralism focuses on the importance of the layout of the brain in regards
to thought. A great example of this would be the engine of a car because it
too emphasizes how the composition of a car influences how it operates.

4. Functionalism
Functionalism is a classification of psychology that stresses the overall
function of the brain as the most contributing to our understanding of
thought. Following the car analogy, functionalism would be the exterior
presentation of the vehicle, and the functions of the car without worrying
about the engine and parts.

5. Naturalistic Observation
Naturalistic observation is a form of gaining knowledge about people/animals
by observing them in a natural setting to see how they behave when they are
unaware of the observers presence. This same premise is reflected in a
security camera because a person can theoretically observe a crowd at a store
or other location naturally, and the subjects do not know they are being
watched.

6. Case Study
A case study is used to evaluate the effects of an experience (usually
traumatic) on a subject without repeating the event because it would be
unethical. An example of a case study would be observing the psychological
effects breaking a limb on a trampoline does to a child. It would be unethical
to repeat such an experiment on a child, but one could use me as a case study
to see if there were any effects.

7. Chapter 2A

8. Dendrite
Dendrites are the branch-like receptors of different neurotransmitters that
collect the messages and then send them down the rest of the neural cell.
This is equitable to the mailbox of the US Postal Service. The mailbox takes in
all the messages (or neurotransmitters) which are then ready to be
transported

9. Axon
The axon is the shaft of a neuron that carries the neural impulse along the cell
to the axon terminal where neurotransmitters are released. Its function is to
essentially transport the message, so mail trucks would be a great example of
axons following along with the USPS analogy.

10. Sympathetic Nervous System
The sympathetic nervous system is what arouses the body by triggering the
adrenal glands and exciting a person or animal. An example of this would be
when I ask my dogs if they would like to go for a walk. Even if they are lying
down, their sympathetic nervous systems will kick in and they will jump out of
bed and wag their tails. In fact, if I were to overexcite them, they would start
to breathe irregularly.

11. Parasympathetic Nervous System
The parasympathetic nervous system is what calms the body back down after
an exciting or stressful experience. An example of the parasympathetic
nervous system at work would be after a walk, when my dogs calm down to
the point of taking a nap.

12. Chapter 2B

13. Brainstem
The brainstem is the most basic components needed in the brain for survival.
Everything in the brainstem focuses on bodily functions and instinct, with no
emotion or higher reasoning involved. An example of an animal who only has
a brainstem and is completely survival-driven is any reptile, such as the lizards
pictured here.

14. Cerebellum
The cerebellum is referred to as the “little brain” and is attached to the back
of the brainstem. It is in charge of balance. So, in a yoga position such as
this, the cerebellum is acting to keep me balanced.

15. Limbic System
The second most basic system in the brain after the brainstem. It in charge of
basic emotions and drives beyond the instinct of survival in the brainstem. My
dogs are an example of an animal who has both a brainstem and a limbic
system because they can feel emotion, but even they lack the higher
reasoning of a human.

16. Occipital Lobe
The occipital lobe is the part of the cerebral cortex of the brain that is in
charge of processing the messages from the optic nerve, and perceiving
vision. This television acts as an occipital lobe because it receives messages
from the cable box telling it what it should be perceiving, an then forms a
presentable image from those messages.

17. Chapter 3

18. Inattentional Blindness
Inattentional blindness is when someone does not perceive something
because they are distracted by something they are already focusing on. For
example, in this photo a person will focus on the details of my backyard such
as the shed or the beautiful sky, but most people wouldn’t notice Elmo
peeking around the tree if I didn’t tell them. This is due to inattentional
blindness.

19. Change Blindness
Change blindness is the inability to perceive a change in one’s surroundings
because they are not paying attention to every detail at once. For example,
many people wouldn’t notice a dramatic change between these two photos,
even though one of the lawn bags has been removed.

20. Manifest Content
The actual content or storyline of a dream. This is the completely objective
experience that one perceives in a dream that is then open for interpretation.
An example of manifest content would be the storyline of a dream in which
Buzz Lightyear steals my car.

21. LSD
LSD is a powerful hallucinogenic drug that can cause its user to see or hear
things that aren’t really there. A person on LSD could look up at the sky and
see our friend Nemo swimming in thin air. This is an example of a
hallucination.

22. Chapter 5

23. Teratogens
Teratogens are substances that can harm an unborn child if the mother were
to indulge in them while pregnant. Alcohol is an example of this, as it can be
harmful to a baby.

24. Habituation
Habituation is when a person becomes accustomed to a sensation that is
perceived frequently. For example, if someone finds an old Christmas present
they will be elated and excite. However, if that person found several presents,
the effects of the stimulation would depreciate as the exposure remains
continuous.

25. Conservation
Conservation is the perceiving of quantities as equal even if their appearance
isn’t the same. Children tend to acquire conservation as they near 7 years old.
A child that lacks conservation will perceive the glass on the right in the
second picture as having more fluid than the one next to it, even though they
are the same amount fluid as shown in the first picture.

26. Egocentrism
Egocentrism is when a person (usually a child) has a difficult time taking
another’s point of view. For example, an egocentric child will stand in front of
a TV blocking the screen because he/she doesn’t understand that other
people can’t see it even though he/she can.

27. Chapter 6A

28. Top-Down Processing
Top-down processing is when higher mental processes influence how people
see or perceive things. For example, people know that a Rubik’s cube is meant
to have the same color on all sides, so those higher mental processes
influences how they view this jumbled cube.

29. Psychophysics
Psychophysics is the study of the nature of different stimuli and how our
bodies respond physiologically to them. An example of this would be how the
irises on our eyes contract in bright light to regulate the amount of light
entering the pupil.

30. Difference Threshold
Difference threshold is the minimum difference between two stimuli needed
for them to be perceived as different. For example, the brightness of these
two lights meets our difference threshold or “just noticeable difference” and
we can perceive them as different.

31. Weber’s Law
Weber’s law states that a stimuli must be enhanced or reduced by at least 2%
in order for the change to be perceived. For example, one would not notice
the weight of this water bottle on a car because (by Weber’s law) the weight
change of a water bottle is not dramatic.

32. Chapter 6B

33. Accommodation
Accommodation is the adaptation of the iris to accommodate the amount of
light to be perceived. For example, in a dark room with only a candle in it, the
pupils will dilate to accommodate the lack of light.

34. Cones
Cones are the receptor cells in the eye (specifically the retina) that are used
for detection of color and details in images. For example, in this photo of my
front yard, cones are what allow us to see the colors of the house, road, and
mulch along with the pigmentation differences in the grass.

35. Kinesthesis
Kinesthesis is a sense that allows us to know the position, location, and
movement of our body parts. For example, kinesthesis is what allows me to
see my hand in a bowl of water, but also know its position by how it feels in
the cool liquid.

36. Human Factors Psychology
Human-factors psychology explores the psychological relationship and
implications between humans and machines. For example, here we see a
human interacting on both a mobile device and an automobile. Human-
factors psychology will explore the psychological impact of interacting with
these machines as well as how I could make a “human error” and crash the
car.

37. Chapter 7A

38. Law of Effect
The Law of Effect states that behaviors that have positive consequences are
likely to be practiced more frequently and behaviors with negative
consequences are likely to be practiced less. For example, studying for tests
produce the positive result of a good grade, so by the law of effect, the
behavior will be practiced more.

39. Mirror Neurons
Mirror neurons are the neurons in our brain that allow us to feel the
sensation of a stimulus someone else is experiencing just by watching them
experience it. For example, if I were to accidentally cut my finger, someone
watching this would also wince in pain just by observing me experience this
sensation. This is caused by mirror neurons.

40. Shaping
Shaping is a technique of operant conditioning that uses reinforcement to
guide a subject closer to a desired behavior. A GPS is a good example of this
because it shapes the behavior of the driver by letting him/her know if they
are doing well in order to drive them towards the desired location.

41. Positive Reinforcement
Positive reinforcement is a device used in operant conditioning that adds a
desirable stimulus for a good behavior to make that behavior more likely. For
example, when my dog’s go to the bathroom outside, I positively reinforce
them by giving them a treat.